French Books - Page 16

Doughs, Batters, and Meringues (French Professional Pastry Series)

Roland Bilheux, Alain Escoffier

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful Tool for Learning Top-Notch Pastry Skills 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I went to pastry school in France and found these books absolutely indispensable.

Need to learn the classics of French pastry? This book (and the other three in the series*) is for you! There are lots of detailed pictures and explanations are clear and well written. Along with time-lines to help you gage how long a project will take. The recipes are frequently given for large restaurant quantity along with a scaled down version suitable for home cooking. My only complaint is that there's no index that spans the 4 volumes, though each book does have its own index with references in both English and French. Very useful.

Master the information in these books and you can work in any pastry kitchen anywhere in the world.

* Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts
Petits Fours, Chocolate, Frozen Desserts, and Sugar Work
Decorations, Borders and Letters, Marzipan, and Modern Desserts

Editorial Review:

Volume 1 of this series presents all of the important techniques used to make the basic pastry preparations.

Georges Perrier Le Bec-fin Recipes

George Perrier, Aliza Green

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

outstanding French cooking 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book solely for the photographs, which I hoped would inspire me in plating food. However, I discovered that, beautiful as the food is, the recipes are the best part of this book. They are all elegant, delicious, contemporary but classically-based French dishes that are moderately complex but not beyond the ability of a skilled home cook. In addition, Chef Perrier's preface, in which he describes his background and cooking philosophy, is nearly as good as Andre Soltner's (in "The Lutece Cookbook"). If you enjoy cooking French food, I enthusiastically recommend this book. By the way...his mussel juice is a great alternative to fish stock; give it a try.

georges does it better 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

It has been my pleasure to dine at Le Bec-Fin. And the book is no less a pleasure, even if you don't want to cook. The recipes are easy to follow and the "asides" are very helpful.

M. Perrier knows his audience.

Editorial Review:

An upscale user-friendly collection of some of Le Bec-Fin''s most famous haute-cusine dishes as well as s ome newer recipes. 120 recipes for both classic French cusin e and Bistro cooking are contained in this book. '

The Magic of Provence: Pleasures of Southern France

Yvone Lenard

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When Yvone Lenard returned to her native France and purchased a house in a hilltop village of Provence, an enchanted world of food, wines, and unusual adventures–including chicken rustling, flirtatious advances from neighbors, and a séance–opened up before her. This is her account of the spell cast on her by Provence, from her first morning’s visit by a charming prince bearing a jug of the village’s vin rose to the growth of her friendship with a duchess in the local chateau. Lenard shares tales of travels to St. Tropez and visits from American friends who find unexpected romance and magic in Provence. Told with verve, wit, and Lenard’s deep understanding of the French language and culture, this memoir includes tales of others who have been drawn to the region, including Vincent van Gogh, Brigitte Bardot, and Princess Caroline of Monaco. Ways to re-create the magic of the region’s sensuous way of life include recipes for food and drinks, as well as tips for entertaining in the Provençal style.

French Culinary Institute's Salute to Healthy Cooking

Alain Sailhac, Jacques Pepin, Andre Soltner, Jose Torres, French Culinary Institute

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

All Star French Cooking Team Serves up Healthy Food 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Talk about an all-star lineup: Sailhac, Torres, Pepin and Soltner.

This is first class cuisine without the cream, and calories and you know!

But it is luscious food. Don't let any of the health words scare you off from this magnificent, gourmet collection. These are takeoffs on French classics, cut down on butter, cream ,etc. The added twist is that they are organized by "season," with a complete menu suggested.

Here's but two of the best I've attempted so far: Spring Noodles with Braised Pompano with Julienne of Vegetables with Lemon Mousse; and Green Bean Soup with Lamb Chops with Spring Vegetables and Mango Tart Tatin.

Great sections on demystifying french cuisine and mastering the basics. Worthy addition to any collection.

Editorial Review:

For the first time, chefs from New York City's renowned French Culinary Institute have created a collection of recipes that are not only delicious, but also easy and low in fat. You'll learn from chefs like Jacques Pepin how to create dishes worthy of restaurants like Le Cirque. The chefs share 40 seasonal menus that use only the freshest, tastiest, healthiest ingredients for a distinctly French taste.

Dining and the Opera in Manhattan (Menus and Music, Vol. 8)

Sharon O'Connor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Successful, easy to follow receipes with good music 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The book provides a menu from each of the restuarants selected, including starter, main and dessert. The Tiramisu was wonderful and all of the receipes tried have been easy and successful. The music is a great accompaniment to get you in the mood whilst cooking.

Editorial Review:

The Metropolitan Opera join 21 of Manhattan's French and Italian restaurants to create an evening to remember. Home cooks should find recipes for intimate suppers or festive dinner parties. The recipes are accompanied by arias performed by Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills and Leontyne Price. The cookbook includes recipes from An American Place; Bice; Cafe des Artistes; Le Cirque; The Four Seasons; and San Domenico, New York. The music offers selections from "La Boheme"; "Porgy and Bess"; "La Traviata"; "Turandot"; "O soave fanciulla"; "Summertime"; "Libiamo"; and "Nessun Dorma".

Cooking with Pomiane (Modern Library Food)

Edouard De Pomiane

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

magnifique! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is the one cooking book I reach for time and time again. Everything in here turns out fabulously well, and the text is so humorous and engaging, I find myself just reading it for pleasure. One word of warning; it will require some adaptations if you are on a fat free diet, as many of the recipes are loaded with butter and cream. Of course, that's what makes them so delicious!
Try this book, it's the best.

Editorial Review:

First published in France in the 1930s, Cooking with Pomiane continues to inspire today's chefs with its inventive simplicity. Edouard de Pomiane turned classic French cuisine on its head, stripping away complicated sauces and arcane techniques to reveal the essence of pure, unadorned good cooking. A food scientist, he offers lucid explanations for why food behaves as it does. Read him and the cream in your gratin dauphinois will never separate, your pot au feu will never be stringy, and your choux pastry will puff to astonishing proportions. Pomiane's great accomplishment was to restore confidence to the cook, and joy to the kitchen. Cooking with Pomiane spills over with amusing stories and more than three hundred superb and streamlined recipes; it is as much a delight to read as it is to cook from. This Modern Library edition is published with an Introduction by the renowned food writer Elizabeth David.

France: The Beautiful Cookbook

Scotto Sisters

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A bounty of more than 240 recipes from the regions of France reveal the rich and varied produce of the world'srenowned center of gastronomy. "France the Beautiful Cookbook "gives a rare insight into the less -publicized side of French cooking: a cuisine which has been passed down through families by word or mouth. This home cuisine, so rich in history and tradition -- and so delicious - simmers and bubbles on family stoves and in country inns throughout each region. France the Beautiful Cookbook takes the reader from the countryside to the table. It explains the vital link between each region's history, geography and culina traditions, story, people who make the food so unique. Without the abundance of oysters, without"cassoulet" without"hochepot," without the "bourride" without the wines and beers that go with them, France would not be France. Specially commissioned photographs graphically convey the diversity and beauty of France's terrain: the craggy hills of the south, the coastal fishing villages along the western coast, the lush pastures of the Loire, the colorful Mediterranean, and the alpine regions and volcanic plateaus of the center. The recipes are recorded in this beautiful book by the Scotto Sisters - food writers Marianne Comolli, Elisabeth Scotto and Michele Carles -- who grew up in Paris, spending the summers of their childhood in the French countryside. Each Cookbook is the story of an ancient treasure trove of French regional gastronony eloquently narrated by Author Pludlowski and superbly captured in color by photographers Pierre Hussenot and Leo Meier.

Savoring France: Recipes and Reflections on French Cooking (Savoring ...)

Georgeanne Brennan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Tres Magnifique 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 22 people found this review helpful.

What really grabbed me at first glance was the vivid colors and attention to the details in the numerous photographs in this book.

Ms. Brennan confided to me recently in a chatroom interview at the French cuisine site that she gained about ten pounds while testing the recipes for the book.

The recipes are all very traditional dishes you'd find in homes and bistros all over France and are simple enough for a confident and even a new cook to recreate.

Along with the delicious, hearty French recipes are little anecdotes sprinkled throughout that shed light on useful things like using creme fraiche. A perfect gift for a francophile, cook or someone who loves good classic cuisine without hours of preparation involved. The book is so vibrant and lovely you'll want to leave it on the coffee table to make your guests salivate while they wait for dinner.

C'est Magnifique! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

This is quite possibly the best cookbook I have ever read! Not only does it have beautiful pictures and wonderful, EASY, delicious recipes, but it has delightful information on the customs, countryside, and people of France. It's a cookbook I actually USE all the time!

The French Vineyard Table

Charles Pierce

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A delightful cookbook -- even if you don't intend to cook 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the prettiest cookbooks I've come across in years. Organized by wine region, it presents both photos and recipes for Burgandy, Provence, etc. The recipes are well presented, with clear explanations of unusual or hard to find ingredients (such as Bresse chickens or wild mushrooms) and they suggest subsitutions that don't make me feel as though I'll be using Velveeta cheese when only Emmenthaler will do.

The recipes look scrumptious -- though I haven't tried to make any of them yet -- and each uses the regional wines. A few of the dishes seem a little _too_ precious (I can't see myself making a blanquette of frog's legs with cepes and gros plante wine, though I might order it in a restaurant). And others are unlikely: I'm not going to afford truffles anytime soon, but you'll find at least a half dozen recipes using them. That isn't a problem, though: several recipes are unpretentious and are begging to be made into Sunday dinner: fricassee of free-range chicken with roasted tomatoes and wild mushrooms (not to mention 2 cups of Chardonnay), or lemon scallops with tomato and white wine (this time the author recommends one from Gaillac). It's a little heavy on the fish and fowl, with only a few beef, veal or pork dishes, in case that's an issue for you.

However, this book is worth it even if you don't cook a thing, because the photography is absolutely stunning. In addition to excellent food photography (most of the recipes are accompanied with a photo, which I appreciate), there's stunning photos of each French region, mostly of vineyards and other foodie issues (such as a photo of a prize winning Bresse chicken). But you'll get your quota of castles and rural French vistas, too, making this a worth book to look at even if you're simply considering a vacation in France.

Editorial Review:

Michelin 3-star French chef Georges Blanc conducts a guided tour of French wine country with more than 90 recipes that incorporate the wines of each region. At each stop Blanc describes the area's geography, history, climate, and its wine. 200 full-color photos. Major reviews.

Good Bread Is Back: A Contemporary History of French Bread, the Way It Is Made, and the People Who Make It

Steven Kaplan

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Editorial Review:

Good Bread Is Back is a beautifully illustrated book for foodies and Francophiles alike. Widely recognized as a leading expert on French bread, the historian Steven Laurence Kaplan takes readers into aromatic Parisian bakeries as he explains how good bread began to reappear in France in the 1990s, following almost a century of decline in quality.

Kaplan sets the stage for the comeback of good bread by describing how, while bread comprised the bulk of the French diet during the eighteenth century, by the twentieth, per capita consumption had dropped off precipitously. This was largely due to social and economic modernization and the availability of a wider choice of foods. But part of the problem was that the bread did not taste good. Centuries-old artisanal breadmaking techniques were giving way to conveyor belts that churned out flavorless fluff. In a culture in which bread is sacrosanct, bad bread was more than a gastronomical disappointment; it was a threat to France’s sense of itself. With a nudge from the millers (who make the flour) and assistance from the government, bakers rallied, reclaiming their reputations as artisans by marketing their traditionally made loaves as the authentic French bread.

By the mid-1990s, bread officially designated as “bread of the French tradition”—bread made without additives or freezing—was in demand throughout Paris. What makes this artisanal bread good? Kaplan explains, meticulously describing the ideal crust and crumb (interior), mouth feel, aroma, and taste. He discusses the breadmaking process in extraordinary detail, from the ingredients to the kneading, shaping, and baking, and even to the sound bread should make when it comes out of the oven. He offers a system for assessing bread’s quality and a language for discussing its attributes. A historian and a connoisseur, Kaplan does more than tell the story of the revival of good bread in France. He makes the reader see, smell, taste, feel, and even hear why it is so very wonderful that good bread is back.